Stardew Valley

- Reviewed on Switch -

Stardew Valley released on February 26th, 2016. 

When it comes to relaxing, stress free games to enjoy, you would be crazy if you did not pick up Stardew Valley. 

Stardew Valley has the enjoyment to bring gamers and even non-gamers to the playing field. 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Your journey begins when (SPOILER) your grandfather passes away and he grants you his farm land, which of course you rename and customize as you wish.

I think there could've been a better way to see how you gain your farmland, but even though I wasn't a fan of this opening, the rest of this enormous, glorious game made up for it.

You can choose a different type of farmland as well, that being the default version, water version, and many more.

After you settle in, you can also play split screen co op which is a massive plus for people who want to play a nice, relaxing, enjoyable game like mentioned earlier. 

There are four seasons in Stardew Valley to experience, each having there own unique events (as seen on the calendars). 

These four seasons are obviously Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. 

I do love the many varieties of crops / events across all four seasons and I appreciate this mechanic because it makes Stardew Valley a more realistic, pixel simulator title. 

Time is an issue for me in Stardew Valley however. One major issue with the time mechanic(s) in Stardew Valley is the fact that, time goes by the hour and not minutes / seconds. 

You also have to sleep (be in bed) by 2:00am which is an odd time to hard reset the days by. 

There are plenty of people to make relationships with in Stardew Valley, both friend wise and romance wise. 

The complete list of citizens (villagers) in Stardew Valley (as of writing this blog post) are...

    - Alex 

    - Elliott

    - Harvey

    - Sam

    - Sebastian

    - Shane

    - Abigail

    - Emily

    - Haley

    - Leah

    - Maru

    - Penny

    - Caroline 

    - Clint

    - Demetrius

    - Dwarf

    - Evelyn

    - George

    - Gus

    - Jas

    - Jodi

    - Kent

    - Krobus

    - Leo

    - Lewis

    - Linus

    - Marnie

    - Pam

    - Pierre

    - Robin

    - Sandy

    - Vincent

    - Willy

    - Wizard

    - Birdie

    - Bouncer

    - Gil

    - Governor

    - Grandpa

    - Gunther

    - Henchman

    - Marlon

    - Morris

    - Mr. Qi

    - Professor Snail

When you marry a villager, I am disappointed that you can't go on trips with them, or interact with them in anyway except talking.

As you level up with villagers by giving them gifts (only twice a week), you get these hearts to indicate how friendly you are with them.

You eventually experience events with each individual of Stardew Valley (after leveling up with them by hearts), and when you do, you get a glimpse of their personality, something you can't really do / identify just by talking to them. 

These events that show each villagers inner personality is a brilliant game mechanic that I can't believe isn't used more in these types of games. 

Later on, in your adventure / tenure in Stardew Valley you find the old museum, and this is where you can complete collections of items. 

You collect the item (ranging from common to super rare) and then travel to the museum (above the town) to insert the item in its appropriate slot. 

Mining and fishing are other activities to try out and mining has its own unique way of progression. 

You must find the ladders by using energy to mine blocks of dirt, stone, ore, etc. and then use those ladders to go down more (for better loot and more dangerous / rare monsters).

After getting the elevator unlocked you can revisit (without using energy to mine) any level you already visited, however, this elevator mechanic only allows you to travel by five levels.  

At the end of the day, Stardew Valley is a must play, farming simulator game that you can lose hours at a time playing. 

Pros: 

    - Lots of Customization 

    - Different Seasons

    - Plethora of Crops, Items, Clothes, Weapons, Tools, etc.

    - Relationship Building (Romance & Friendship & Both)

    - Relationship Event(s)

    - Plenty of Characters to Meet

    - Great Longevity 

    - Beautiful Graphics

    - Relaxing / Stress Free Game (Environment)

Cons:

    - Lackluster Beginning Story

    - 2:00am Automatic Stopping Time

    - Hardly Any New Romance Events (After Marriage)

My Rating for Stardew Valley (on Switch):

4 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.